1/700 Heavy Bomb Ketch

Throughout the Golden Age of Sail, the bomb ketch was a specialised seige ship, armed with one or two mortars.  On the earliest designs, the mortars were fixed in place, and were aimed by rotating the ship with spring anchors.  In addition, the ships had to be built with special hulls, which were wider and much sturdier than contemporary frigate hulls in order to withstand the recoil and remain stable.  With the mortars placed the way they were, whether the ship had one or two, there was no room for a foremast, hence the ketch rig.  It was not until the beginning of the 19th century that wooden-hulled ships were built with sufficient size and strength to equip both rotating mortars and three full-rigged masts (see my 1812 bomb ship).  This particular ship would have been used in the late 17th and the first half of the 18th century.  Slightly later versions would have replaced the lateen sail with a more modern spanker.  Bomb ketches (and later bomb ships, as well) were typically given firey names, such as the HMS Vulcan, for the Roman god of the forge, or the French Salamandre, as "salamander" is sometimes used as a poetic synonym for "dragon."

This model is not yet available in 1/1000 scale, but the option may still show up for some reason.

If you are interested in purchasing the file for this model and printing it yourself, you can find it here:
https://www.wargaming3d.com/product/heavy-bomb-ketch/